Phoenix of the Force
by Solari Crystal
Summary: Darth Vader walks out and Anakin Skywalker steps in, only to run and disappear. But it was always like Anakin to return out of guilt and eagerness for action. And it is always like him to make ties that could destroy him like they did years ago. But it is just like him to never give up so easily.


Pheonix of the Force

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Vader doesn't feel angry just annoyed. He is annoyed at many things; yet this Bespin Ambassador always manages to get on his nerves by just being there. He doesn't know if it is because of the major incompetence that Vader can just feel coming off in waves from the man or because he just gets this vibe from the man that makes him feel like he wanted to choke him to death.

Maybe it isn't the Bespin ambassador, but Han Solo. And perhaps this feeling isn't annoyance. Maybe it's _loss_.

But it's ridiculous because he doesn't care anymore and because he knows he shouldn't feel like that anymore. He shouldn't fell like that anymore. He doesn't have heart enough to feel like that.

_There is no peace, there is only passion_.

He only felt that and he sometimes hated that feeling because it made him the way he is. But then he rips those thoughts apart. They are poisonous. They are alien and so far away from his reach.

_Through passion, I gain strength_.

He watches as Solo goes to console the Princess. And he hates that Solo goes as far to rub it in his face that he has what Vader has lost. And the hate burns through him like brandy down the throat. And it gives him what he needs to follow through with this.

_Through strength, I gain power. _

Yet behind that anger...he feels it. So bittersweet and familiar. So happy and so fulfilled. So empowered. He remembers something he shared with someone so beautiful, so heavenly. His lost and fallen Angel. He lost what Solo has. He realizes he hates Solo for it.

He knows anger when he feels it; it has been what he has been feeding off for the last years.

_Through power, my chains are broken_.

That brief moment between Solo and the Princess makes him pause long enough to watch and feel. And that kiss...that beautiful kiss shared between them is so special; so treasured. Just like that moment before he stepped back into the front lines. When he was another different person. He hates the weakness that is just waiting inside him; so close to the surface.

_The Force shall free me. _

And it feels like for a moment the whole planet is on standstill, everyone just pausing long enough for him understand. The Force sings and rejoices around the two and it feels so familiar. And for the fist time in years, he lets himself feel what he should but couldn't feel. For the first time in years, Anakin Skywalker resurfaces from beneath Darth Vader.

He steps forward. "Leave." He motions to his troops and they all file out, including the Bespin ambassador. He knows better than to defy Vader. They all do.

Vader is aware of the growing panic of both Solo and the Princess. The Wookie is growling threateningly but he pays no mind. Right now is not the time to cower like a youngling.

He comes to stand before the Princess, his imposing figure towering over the thin girl before him. He has admiration for the girl when she doesn't flinch, rather stands tall and strong. It was more than others did. He places one hand on her shoulder, which slowly lifts to her chin. She looks intrigued.

"You should not waste time." With that makes his way to the exit. The opposite exit.

"W-wait!" The Princess shouts, and for a moment it's like _**she's**_ back.

But it's for naught, he knows, to wish for _her_ back because _she_ is gone and he is aware that he still hasn't accepted it despite the years.

"What do you mean? Where are you going?" She asks curiously.

He can't place why she is curious. He knows she hates him for being who he is. Hates him because of her lost planet. Hates him despite being the other piece he has from her.

He must have stood for a minute before he comes up with an answer that he feels will reassure her. "Headstrong Luke is heading this way. Rushing into things like his father. Be sure not to get caught."

Solo gawked, "You're just gonna let us go like that?"

He doesn't grace that with an answer and leaves, leaving silence behind him. He arrives to the hangar, climbs into a freighter, an unnamed one and instantly punches in coordinates.

He will leave. He will erase himself from this place. The _Chosen One _isn't him and never was. It is Luke and it will be up to him to kill the last remaining Sith. Amusement suddenly runs through him, because he is aware that he is following Ventresse's path.

But this time, it would be the Unknown Regions where he would become just another lost being that runs through space.

He is Anakin Skywalker. And he knows he is a coward.


End file.
